The availability of weight-measuring data of a vehicle and the load carried by the vehicle is important to many operators and fleet owners of vehicles. The standard method of measuring the weight of a vehicle such as a truck is by ground-imbedded weight scales such as those located at highway stations, which are manned by regulatory personnel. The fleet owner may also have such a weight scale at his primary depot, or may use publicly accessible private enterprise scales.
Prior and present vehicle weight-measuring art typically uses load cells as the weight-measuring element in a vehicle weight-measuring assembly. This method requires a substantial volume for the assembly and in some cases, the height required by the assembly would increase the vehicle height to an intolerable level. This is one reason such elements have not been successfully incorporated in the vehicles whose weights are to be measured, but may be used in roadway installations.
Another method involves the measurement of pressure in the air-bags of vehicles equipped with compressed air supported suspensions, as in air-ride. This method has poor accuracy for weight measurement, since it is dependent on the overall vehicle air pressure, and is adversely affected by temperature and altitude changes.